IG who investigated an Obama supporter was fired by Obama – Update: Michelle Obama involved?
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Investigating people with friends in high places can be bad for one’s career.
I’m waiting for Nancy Pelosi and the media to demand an immediate investigation.
President Barack Obama says he has lost confidence in the inspector general who investigates AmeriCorps and other national service programs and has told Congress he is removing him from the position.
Obama’s move follows an investigation by IG Gerald Walpin finding misuse of federal grants by a nonprofit education group led by Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson, who is an Obama supporter and former NBA basketball star.
Walpin was criticized by the acting U.S. attorney in Sacramento for the way he handled the investigation of Johnson and St. HOPE Academy, a nonprofit group that received hundreds of thousands of dollars in federal grants from the Corporation for National and Community Service, which runs the AmeriCorps program.
St. HOPE Academy ended up repaying more than $400,000 in government funds.
“It is vital that I have the fullest confidence in the appointees serving as inspectors general,” Obama said in a letter Thursday to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Vice President Joe Biden, who also serves as president of the Senate. “That is no longer the case with regard to this inspector general.”
Byron York reports in the Washington Examiner that Walpin’s termination is effective in 30 days. Had Walpin resigned, as President Obama wanted him to do, his termination would have been effective immediately.
The 30 day requirement is important because last year Congress passed the Inspectors General Reform Act, which was designed to strengthen protections for IGs, who have the responsibility of investigating allegations of waste, fraud and abuse within federal agencies, against interference by political appointees or the White House. Part of the Act was a requirement that the president give Congress 30 days’ notice before dismissing an IG. One of the co-sponsors of the Act was then-Sen. Barack Obama.
The Act also requires the president to outline the cause for his decision to remove an IG. Beyond saying that he did not have the “fullest confidence” in Walpin, Obama gave no reason for his action.
There are two big questions about the president’s actions. One, why did he decide to fire Walpin? And two, did he abide by the law that he himself co-sponsored?
Those are good questions. (Not that Obama cares about the law.) The president’s actions concerned Senator Charles Grassley, who questions why the president fired Walpin.
According to Republican Sen. Charles Grassley, a strong advocate of inspectors general, Walpin received a call from the White House Counsel’s office on Wednesday evening. Walpin was told that he had one hour to either resign or be fired. Senate sources say Walpin asked why he was being fired and, according to one source, “The answer that was given was that it’s just time to move on. The president would like to have someone else in that position.” Walpin declined to resign.
Grassley fired off a letter to the president on Thursday saying that, “I was troubled to learn that [Wednesday] night your staff reportedly issued an ultimatum to the AmeriCorps Inspector General Gerald Walpin that he had one hour to resign or be terminated,” Grassley wrote. “As you know, Inspectors General were created by Congress as a means to combat waste, fraud, and abuse and to be independent watchdogs ensuring that federal agencies were held accountable for their actions. Inspectors General were designed to have a dual role reporting to both the President and Congress so that they would be free from undue political pressure. This independence is the hallmark of all Inspectors General and is essential so they may operate independently, without political pressure or interference from agencies attempting to keep their failings from public scrutiny.”
Grassley’s version of events suggests that the White House first tried to muscle Walpin out of his job without having to go through the 30-day process. It was only when Walpin refused to resign that the White House then notified Congress of the president’s intention to fire Walpin.
The bigger question is why the president is doing this and why he is attempting to do it so quickly. Senate sources now believe Obama is firing Walpin over Walpin’s investigation of Kevin Johnson, a former NBA star and a prominent supporter of the president.
The fact that Johnson and St. HOPE returned half the funds is evidence of wrong doing. So why was Walpin canned? Will anyone press the president to answer these questions, or will the media overlook the story? It remains to be seen, but odds are we won’t be hearing much about this from the MSM or democrats.
You should read Byron York’s whole report, it contains more information and he has updated it as new information emerges.
I just found this report by Jake Tapper at ABC News. He reports pretty much the same information but the title says he probably won’t be doing much more digging. MSNBC is about the same. All of the MSM reports seem to take Obama’s word. I guess that’s their new job.
Hot Air has more information. It’s possible the First Lady may be involved and also that there’s more to the story than just Kevin Johnson.
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The Americorps program is full of waste, fraud, and abuse. Now, nothing will be done about it.
For Obama to firing someone investigating his supporters is reminiscent of Watergate. It’s odd how the press just prints Obama’s spin.
The fired inspector general seems to be a moderate Republican. But the news stories make a big deal out of the fact that he was appointed by Bush — even though many current IGs were appointed by preceding administrations (what would you expect? Obama’s only been in office a few months), and they never pointed out when an IG who investigated Bush appointees was appointed by Clinton.
Yet the news stories leave out material that rebuts the idea that this IG was reflexively hostile to the Obama Administration’s appointees, like his support for an Obama nominee, and the fact that the Administration itself was proud to tout his support for that nominee. See www2.nationalreview.com/
dest/2009/06/02/
descriptionjudicialrestraint.pdf
The Americorps program is chock full of waste, fraud, and abuse. Now, nothing will be done about it.
For Obama to fire someone investigating his supporters like this is reminiscent of Watergate. It’s odd how the press just prints Obama’s spin.
The fired inspector general seems to be a moderate Republican. But the news stories make a big deal out of the fact that he was appointed by Bush — even though many current IGs were appointed by preceding administrations (what would you expect? Obama’s only been in office a few months), and they never pointed out when an IG who investigated Bush appointees was appointed by Clinton.
Yet the news stories leave out material that rebuts the idea that this IG was reflexively hostile to the Obama Administration’s appointees, like his support for an Obama nominee, and the fact that the Administration itself was proud to tout his support for that nominee. See www2.nationalreview.com/
dest/2009/06/02/
descriptionjudicialrestraint.pdf
That leaves uncontested the White House spin claiming that Walpin was a right-wing rogue investigator.